Page 5 of The Dragons' Healing Mate

I turned to Bastian, and he shook his head. So, he didn’t recognize it, either. Tension swarmed the four of us like a disease. For a moment that stretched on like taffy, we all stood there, frozen, until another scream tore free. Immediately, we rushed toward the house, giving it everything we had. I couldn’t lose her again.

My thighs burned as I dashed up to the door and then paused long enough to kick it in, sensing Bastian behind me. The first thing I noticed was a man standing behind Rowan, who was crouched over something, her back to him. Another dragon. I could sense it. And this asshole had the gall to sneak into the healer’s hut onourland and kidnap her.

I didn’t think, just reacted, flying across the groaning floorboards to the asshole and grabbing him by the throat. I held him in the air, growling low as I bared my teeth, logic officially out the window.

“You took my fucking mate.” I glared into his eyes, a rage I’d never known powering through my veins and demanding I spill his blood. “Youtookmy fuckingmate!”

Rowan

“Put him down, Orsen,” I growled, putting every ounce of fury I could into my tone so he would listen as Colin rapidly turned blue. One moment, I had been talking Allison through a contraction, and the next, Orsen had been crashing into the room and grabbing Colin.

Safe to say, the dragon was pissed.

I had rushed over to them, but I was powerless when it came to getting between two Alphas.

“Hekidnappedyou!” Grey shouted, clearly surprised by my command. He appeared in the doorway as Orsen held Colin by the throat. His eyes raked over me, checking for any sign of injuries. Other than being a little rumpled and fighting a mild headache, I was totally fine.

I took a deep breath, giving him a pleading look. “Yes, but it’s not that simple. It’s really a misunderstanding. I know you’re pissed, but right now, I need you guys to shut up andhelpme.”

They were all here. Bastian and Grey were crowding the doorway as they shoved inside, and Nix was bringing up the rear. All of them breathing heavily, except for Orsen, who just looked murderous. My mates stared at me in surprise for a moment before I shook my head, knowing that time was of the essence.

Given Nix’s shirtless state, I deduced that he had recently been in dragon form.

“Are you going to help, or are you just going to stare at me like idiots?” I raised my brows, landing a glare on Orsen again. If he didn’t let go of Colin soon, the poor guy was going to suffocate, and that would be too much for his laboring mate.

“Allison’s labor isn’t progressing well,” I explained in a soft voice, so they could hear me, but the groaning woman on the sofa couldn’t.

The grumpy expression melted off Nix’s and Grey’s faces, both glancing over, taking in her state, understanding dawning in their eyes.

“How can we help?” Nix asked.

After another long blink, Orsen unceremoniously dropped Colin and rushed up to me.

I turned and hurried to the desk across the room to grab a piece of paper and a pen. Once I’d found what I needed, I started scribbling the names of several herbs.

“One of you needs to go back to my clinic and pick these up. They’re in my cupboard, neatly labeled. Easy as reading it and stuffing them in a bag.”

Bastian took the piece of paper, his brow furrowing before he let out a sharp exhale through his nose. “I’m the fastest. I’ll do it.”

I smiled at him. “Thank you. Now, yes, Colindidkidnap me, technically—but it was out of fear for his mate.” I gestured at Allison, who was only getting more and more exhausted as the pain got worse. “She’s struggling. My only priority right now is to make sure she delivers a healthy baby. If any of you idiots gets in my way, I will never forgive you.”

My mates seemed to understand the gravity of the situation, Orsen flicking his gaze toward Allison. “What do you need?”

“All I need for now are the herbs. They’ll help her cervix open and allow things to move more smoothly.”

What I didn’t say was that, ideally, I needed her to dilate enough so I could manually help guide the baby out. Breech babies weren’t impossible to deliver, but it was tricky—and more painful. Plus, her muscles were getting weaker, and the contractions weren’t getting the baby into position as they should.

Allison screamed again, and I walked over to her, crouching by her side and taking her hand to rub my thumb over it as she dropped to the floor on her elbows and knees. I’d placed several thick blankets beneath her to save her knees, and this would be the best position for her to deliver in.

“Breathe, okay? It’s nearly time. Just a bit longer, and your baby will be here, safe in your arms,” I assured her, putting on my best caretaker smile.

“How can you be so confident?” she whimpered, sweat covering her, from head to toe, her shirt and pants long gone.

“Because I’ve assisted with many births like this before,” I replied in a cheerful tone, even though, deep down, I was worrying.

Birth was messy and complicated. It could very easily go wrong in any situation, let alone a breech presentation. But I needed to remind myself that it wasn’t impossible.

“I’m sorry. I know I’ve committed a grave offense—” Colin started as he pulled himself off the floor, but Orsen cut him off.